1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data communication across a decentralized network of computing resources.
2. Description of the Related Art
A decentralized computing environment is defined by a number of computing systems interconnected to communicate with one another, wherein each computing system can perform both client and server functions. A peer-to-peer (P2P) network represents a decentralized computing environment in which each computing system within the P2P network is defined as a peer of every other computing system within the network. For discussion purposes, each peer computing system within the P2P network is referred to as a node. Each node within the P2P network is configured to execute software having substantially equivalent functionality. Therefore, each node is enabled to act as both a provider and a user of data and services across the P2P network.
Nodes within the P2P network are generally linked together through communication channels to form grids of communication. In a fully connected grid (FCG), each node is connected to communicate directly with each of the other nodes within the FCG. In the distributed P2P network environment, nodes having a common interest can be connected to form a FCG representing a sub-grid of interest. Each node within the sub-grid of interest is generally responsible for publishing some content related to the particular interest. The cumulative content published by each node within the sub-grid of interest defines a scope of the sub-grid. Additionally, the sub-grid of interest represents a dynamic entity in which participating nodes are capable of entering and exiting at will. Since the scope of the sub-grid is defined by the cumulative published content of the connected nodes, the scope of the sub-grid can be negatively impacted by the exit of a node and a corresponding loss of its published content.
In view of the foregoing, a solution is needed to ensure that published content within a sub-grid of interest will persist despite changes in the sub-grid structure.